Bibliography

1. Hadley Stewart, Patterson David 1996. Free-living Freshwater Protozoa: A Colour Guide. London, FR. Manson Publishing Ltd. 223 p.

2. Forest Herman 1954. Handbook of Algae. Knoxville, TN. The University of Tennessee Press. 386 p.

3. Rainis Kenneth, Russell Bruce 1996. Guide to Microlife. Danbury, CT. Franlin Watts. 288 p.

Week One Observations

On Thursday October 23, 2014 I went to make my first observations on my microaquarium.  My observations were made with a powerful microscope that had a camera attachment, which made taking pictures and videos reality.  When I sat down and looked at my aquarium for the first time since its setup I could not believe my eyes.  The abundance of wildlife had grown exponentially.  Every little twitch of the knob set my eyes on a new creature, large and small.  Although I saw many creatures, I really tried to focus on one in particular.  This creature's name is a Vorticella.  I made a picture that contained it feeding and moving stage, but they did not email correctly.  So instead, I will add a picture of a Gastrotricha I captured.  Here is a picture of it.

I obtained the name of the Gastrotricha initially from Dr. McFarland, and the looked it up in the book "Free-living Freshwater Protozoa:A Colour Guide".  The book explained that Gastroctichs normally are found in the sediment area of water sources and can sometimes be found on land.  The gastrotrich moved around in a slug-like manner.

Aside from the Gastrotrichs and Vorticellas, I spotted a large number of Nematodes.  At the rate of reproduction of these creatures, my microaquarium is soon going to be packed tight with life.  I cannot wait to see where this goes.

Microaquarium Setup and Initial Observations

Last lab period I set up my Microaquarium.  I obtained a glass rectangle glued on three sides with an opening at the top.  This is where everything goes in.  I chose to use water source #2, which was taken from the French Broad River located at the Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge.

French Broad River, Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge

 

2. French Broad River, Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge, Kelly Lane , Knox Co. Tennessee. Partial shade exposure French Broad River Water Shed N35 56.742 W83 41.628 841 ft 10/12/2014

  I took soil from the water source and added it to the bottom, and then took water from the bottom, middle, and top of the source.  Two plants were then added to the Microaquarium.  One was
-Amblestegium varium (Hedwig) Lindberg. Moss.
Collection from: Natural spring. at Carters Mill Park, Carter Mill Road, Knox Co. TN. Partial shade exposure. N36 01.168 W83 42.832. 10/12/2014,

and the other,

  -Utricularia gibba L. Flowering plant. A
carnivorous plant. Original material from south shore of Spain Lake (N 35o55 12.35" W088o20' 47.00), Camp Bella Air Rd. East of Sparta Tn. in White Co. and grown in water tanks outside of greenhouse at Hesler Biology Building. The University of Tennessee. Knox Co. Knoxville TN.
10/12/2014

 I then looked at the Microaquarium through a microscope and observed all of the living organisms.  There were many including one giant worm (Nematode).  Most moved very fast and spontaneously. It seemed as though the majority of life in my aquarium bunched up in the areas of the plants, which led me to believe they stay in the areas with the most oxygen.  I am excited to see what develops in these aquariums.